Jeffrey & Javed combo for Xavier’s reunion

A STAFF REPORTER

Jeffrey Archer during an earlier visit to the city

A master storyteller with a quiver full of yarns and a singer with a number of Bolly hits under his belt — they are the ingredients for a magical evening at the annual reunion of the St. Xavier’s Collegiate School old boys.

Jeffrey Archer and Javed Ali are the key elements of the 35th annual reunion of Alumnorum Societas (Alsoc), the old boys’ association of the school, on December 15.

Titled “Let’s Reconnect”, the reunion is first and foremost about catching up with old friends and taking a walk down memory lane. What had started as a meeting of 50 old boys now sees a footfall of almost 2,000 — both members and their spouses.

“But we want our members to gain something more, that is why we invite eminent people to come and talk to them,” said Anirudh Kajaria, the convener of the reunion, which has had speakers such as Shashi Tharoor and Kaushik Basu in the past.

Archer will deliver the keynote speech. This will be followed by question-and-answer and book-signing sessions. And a fair warning to all those who want their books signed: only early birds who register for the book-signing in advance would get a chance to do so.

The entertainment section of the evening will see Javed Ali belt out tunes like Kajra re, Nagada nagada, Ranjha ranjha and Kun faya kun.

Alsoc, a charitable association, uses the reunion also as a fundraiser for various charitable projects.

Apart from helping its alma mater with expansion plans and infrastructure upgrade, Alsoc also runs Titli, a free school at night, provides infrastructure for a girls’ school in Joka, organises health camps and supports the school’s needy students.

“The surplus amount generated from the event goes into various Alsoc projects,” said the convener.